The Vanguard Capital Market forecast supports your shift: they predict higher growth in non-US developed markets than US equities.
https://corporate.vanguard.com/content/corporatesite/us/en/corp/vemo/vemo-return-forecasts.html
There is good evidence that a diversified portfolio with stocks and bonds (or other uncorrelated investments) with regular rebalancing can compensate for the swings of the stock market. If at some point the market corrects from the AI bubble, you can rebalance when stocks are low. I realize there is a several year period needed for this, i.e. set aside immediate funding needs.
The top 1% in a global scale may be >$ 1 million, however this is probably a minimum for most families in the US to have a well funded retirement and so not sure I would define this as “wealthy”. l am not not knocking the pleasures of being able to down a Guinness and enjoy what the US gives us in health care and lifestyle. A lot of us look at the disparity between the 1 percentile folks and the 2% group and feel there is inequity in our country.
Investopedia:
The minimum net worth of the top 1% of households is roughly $13.7 million.
An individual would have to earn an average of $407,500 per year to join the top 1%. A household would need an income of $591,550.
The median household income in the United States was $80,610 in 2023.
Shakespeare’s sonnet 60 somehow seems appropriate for a former enthusiastic UK student journalist: Like as the waves make towards the pebbled shore,So do our minutes hasten to their end;Each changing place with that which goes before,In sequent toil all forwards do contend.Nativity, once in the main of light,Crawls to maturity, wherewith being crown’d,Crooked elipses ’gainst his glory fight,And Time that gave doth now his gift confound.Time doth transfix the flourish set on youthAnd delves the parallels in beauty’s brow,Feeds on the rarities of nature’s truth,And nothing stands but for his scythe to mow: And yet to times in hope my verse shall stand,
Praising thy worth, despite his cruel hand.
Nice review—David Swensen-when alive and running Yale’s endowment—Klarman and even Buffett in their books, all describe much of their success in investing as coming from special opportunities—supporting takeovers and mergers, venture capital startups and financing bailouts. These deals all take a lot of capital and a huge investment in screening. Swensen and Buffett more or less said common investors don’t have access to these favorable deals and recommended low cost diversified investing for most investors. We still have the advantage of patience that most of the venture capital investors with their 4-5 year time-lines lack.
TIAA is facing a class action suit for rigging their retirement calculator to always recommend their annuities and real estate mutual fund (“Ka-Ching”). There are situations where single annuities don’t make sense, eg if your IRA equivalent is fairly large and diversified with bonds, SS and money market funds available for short-term income needs.
I always wanted to visit Molokai and would enjoy some travel suggestions, eg where are good snorkeling spots? Sticking to HD’s mission— did the off the map location keep the total travel budget low—eg did the small planes and limited vacation rentals result in low prices that compensate for the high grocery costs? I would imagine it could be like St Johns, VI with a high cost for restaurants and fancy rentals but a lot of inexpensive camping and outdoor activities available?
Comments
I think “wifey” is an outdated or personal label to use—not for posts.
Post: Social Security – Why I Chose FRA
Link to comment from December 21, 2025
The Vanguard Capital Market forecast supports your shift: they predict higher growth in non-US developed markets than US equities. https://corporate.vanguard.com/content/corporatesite/us/en/corp/vemo/vemo-return-forecasts.html
Post: Becoming A “Bad Investor”
Link to comment from December 17, 2025
I sympathize, but suggest you need an active editor to monitor and add compelling content similar to Jonathon’s for HD to continue.
Post: Letter from Elaine
Link to comment from November 22, 2025
There is good evidence that a diversified portfolio with stocks and bonds (or other uncorrelated investments) with regular rebalancing can compensate for the swings of the stock market. If at some point the market corrects from the AI bubble, you can rebalance when stocks are low. I realize there is a several year period needed for this, i.e. set aside immediate funding needs.
Post: Is The Stock Market Overvalued?
Link to comment from October 18, 2025
- The top 1% in a global scale may be >$ 1 million, however this is probably a minimum for most families in the US to have a well funded retirement and so not sure I would define this as “wealthy”. l am not not knocking the pleasures of being able to down a Guinness and enjoy what the US gives us in health care and lifestyle. A lot of us look at the disparity between the 1 percentile folks and the 2% group and feel there is inequity in our country.
Investopedia:Post: The 1% Club: Our Unnoticed Wealth
Link to comment from September 26, 2025
Shakespeare’s sonnet 60 somehow seems appropriate for a former enthusiastic UK student journalist: Like as the waves make towards the pebbled shore, So do our minutes hasten to their end; Each changing place with that which goes before, In sequent toil all forwards do contend. Nativity, once in the main of light, Crawls to maturity, wherewith being crown’d, Crooked elipses ’gainst his glory fight, And Time that gave doth now his gift confound. Time doth transfix the flourish set on youth And delves the parallels in beauty’s brow, Feeds on the rarities of nature’s truth, And nothing stands but for his scythe to mow: And yet to times in hope my verse shall stand, Praising thy worth, despite his cruel hand.
Post: Farewell Friends
Link to comment from September 22, 2025
Here’s a take on the dividend irrelevance theory: https://www.whitecoatinvestor.com/dividend-irrelevancy-theory/
Post: Dividends Part II – At least
Link to comment from August 25, 2025
Nice review—David Swensen-when alive and running Yale’s endowment—Klarman and even Buffett in their books, all describe much of their success in investing as coming from special opportunities—supporting takeovers and mergers, venture capital startups and financing bailouts. These deals all take a lot of capital and a huge investment in screening. Swensen and Buffett more or less said common investors don’t have access to these favorable deals and recommended low cost diversified investing for most investors. We still have the advantage of patience that most of the venture capital investors with their 4-5 year time-lines lack.
Post: How to Beat the Market
Link to comment from August 23, 2025
TIAA is facing a class action suit for rigging their retirement calculator to always recommend their annuities and real estate mutual fund (“Ka-Ching”). There are situations where single annuities don’t make sense, eg if your IRA equivalent is fairly large and diversified with bonds, SS and money market funds available for short-term income needs.
Post: Outliving Your Money? Let’s Do the Math on Annuities
Link to comment from August 14, 2025
I always wanted to visit Molokai and would enjoy some travel suggestions, eg where are good snorkeling spots? Sticking to HD’s mission— did the off the map location keep the total travel budget low—eg did the small planes and limited vacation rentals result in low prices that compensate for the high grocery costs? I would imagine it could be like St Johns, VI with a high cost for restaurants and fancy rentals but a lot of inexpensive camping and outdoor activities available?
Post: Reacting to the Tariffs
Link to comment from August 8, 2025